Methods for managing power consumption in a sensor network

Abstract

Methods for reducing sensor support power in a sensor network include a primary node locating a secondary node. The primary node has a primary node sensor profile, and the secondary node has a secondary node sensor profile. The secondary node sensor profile is compared to the primary node sensor profile. A virtual sensor profile is constructed based on the comparison between the primary and secondary sensor profiles. The virtual sensor profile reduces redundant sensor data gathering between the primary and secondary sensor nodes. A power consumption optimization hardware configuration for the secondary node is determined to provide sensor data for the virtual sensor profile, and the determined hardware configuration is assigned to the secondary node.

We claim: 
     
       1. A method for managing power consumption in a sensor network, the method comprising:
 at a primary node, in the sensor network, having a primary node sensor profile: 
 locating a secondary node, in the sensor network, having a secondary node sensor profile; 
 comparing the secondary node sensor profile to the primary node sensor profile to construct a virtual sensor profile that reduces redundant sensor data gathering between the primary and secondary sensor nodes; 
 determining a power consumption optimization hardware configuration for the secondary node to provide sensor data for the virtual sensor profile; and 
 assigning the determined hardware configuration to the secondary node; 
 wherein the primary node includes a first plurality of sensors and the secondary node includes a second plurality of sensors, the method further comprising; 
 identifying a first sensor of the first plurality of sensors and a second sensor of the second plurality of sensors, where the first and second sensors are collocated and coupled to each other by the sensor network; and 
 performing a sensor sharing negotiation function to reduce redundant sensor data gathering between the first sensor and the second sensor. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining a sharing permission for each of the primary node sensor profile and the secondary node sensor profile; and 
 comparing the secondary node sensor profile to the primary node sensor profile to construct the virtual sensor profile only when the sharing permission permits allows of the two profiles. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining a presence of duplicate sensor node data between the primary node and the secondary node, wherein the virtual sensor profile is constructed to eliminate the duplicate sensor node data. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the secondary node sensor profile has a secondary mission configuration, and the primary node sensor profile has a primary mission configuration, and the virtual sensor profile is constructed to support the primary and secondary mission configurations. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 identifying a sensor that is common to both the primary node and the secondary node; 
 determining whether data collected by the common sensor meets a collocation requirement; and 
 when the data collected by the common sensor meets the collocation requirement constructing the virtual sensor profile to eliminate duplicate data collected by the common sensor. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein assigning the determined hardware configuration to the secondary node comprises:
 changing a hardware configuration of the secondary node in accordance with the determined power consumption optimization hardware configuration to disable a sensor function in the secondary node. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 monitoring the sensor network for changing environmental and network conditions; and 
 changing a hardware configuration of the secondary node to adapt to the changing conditions to maintain an overall mission support as defined for the sensor network. 
 
     
     
       8. A method for collaborative operation of a plurality of sensor units in a sensor network to manage power consumption in the sensor network, the method comprising:
 at a first sensor unit of the plurality of sensor units: 
 determining an environment and power profile of the first sensor unit; 
 communicating with a second sensor unit of the plurality of sensor units to determine an environment and power profile of the second sensor unit; 
 comparing the environment and power profiles of the first and second sensor units to determine a power consumption optimization hardware configuration for each of the first and second sensor units; and 
 changing a hardware configuration of at least one of the first sensor unit or the second sensor unit in accordance with the determined power consumption optimization hardware configurations to disable a sensor function in at least one of the first or second sensor units. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 determining a sharing permission for each of the environment and power profiles of the first and second sensor units; and 
 comparing the environment and power profiles of the first and second sensor units to determine a power consumption optimization hardware configuration for each of the first and second sensor units only when the sharing permission permits allows of the two profiles. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 identifying a failing sensor unit in the plurality of sensor units; and 
 performing a data-hopping function to transmit data from the failing sensor unit to a functional sensor unit in the plurality of sensor units, the functional sensor unit having power and being collocated to the failing sensor unit to continue support of a mission configuration of the failing sensor unit. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 determining a presence of duplicate sensor unit data between the first sensor unit and the second sensor unit, wherein the determined power consumption optimization hardware configurations eliminate the duplicate sensor unit data. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 comparing a mission configuration of the first sensor unit to a mission configuration of the second sensor unit to construct a virtual sensor profile to reduce redundant sensor data gathering between the first and second sensor units and support both mission configurations. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 identifying an individual sensor that is common to both the first sensor unit and the second sensor unit; 
 determining whether data collected by the individual sensor common to both the first and second sensor units meets a collocation requirement; and 
 when the data collected by the individual common sensor common to both the first and second sensor units meets the collocation requirement constructing a virtual sensor profile to reduce redundant sensor data gathering between the first and second sensor units. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 8  further comprising:
 identifying a first sensor of the first sensor unit and a second sensor of the second sensor unit, that are collocated and coupled to each other by the sensor network; and 
 performing a sensor sharing negotiation function to reduce redundant sensor data gathering between the first sensor and the second sensor. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 8 , wherein determining the power consumption optimization hardware configuration for each of the first and second sensor units further comprises:
 determining a baseline power drain profile for each of the first and second sensor units; 
 determining a remaining battery life for each of the first and second sensor units based on the baseline power drain profile; and 
 performing a numerical analysis function to prioritize a distribution of sensor work loads for each of the first and second sensor units based on both the remaining battery life and the baseline power drain profile for each of the first and second sensor units. 
 
     
     
       16. A method for managing power consumption in a sensor network, the method comprising:
 at a primary node, in the sensor network, having a primary node sensor profile: 
 locating a secondary node, in the sensor network, having a secondary node sensor profile; 
 comparing the secondary node sensor profile to the primary node sensor profile to construct a virtual sensor profile that reduces redundant sensor data gathering between the primary and secondary sensor nodes; 
 determining a power consumption optimization hardware configuration for the secondary node to provide sensor data for the virtual sensor profile; and 
 assigning the determined hardware configuration to the secondary node; 
 wherein determining the power consumption optimization hardware configuration further comprises: 
 determining a baseline power drain profile for each of the primary and secondary nodes; 
 determining a remaining battery life for each of the primary and secondary nodes based on the baseline power drain profile; and 
 performing a numerical analysis function to prioritize a distribution of sensor work loads for each of the primary and secondary nodes based on both the remaining battery life and the baseline power drain profile for each of the primary and secondary nodes.